Oct. 25, 2009

Box Score

Spartanburg, S.C. - The Western Carolina women's soccer team picked up their second consecutive Southern Conference victory with a 1-0 shutout at Wofford on Sunday afternoon.

Western Carolina (7-6-5, 4-3-3 SoCon) pelted 16 shots to pick up their fourth conference victory, while Wofford (3-13-2) fell to 2-6-2 in conference action. The back-to-back wins over Furman and Wofford were the first back-to-back victories for WCU since Sept. 25-27 when the Cats defeated Davidson and Georgia Southern.

Junior Kellie Oberholtzer scored the lone goal from 40-yards out after a strong touch from Kayla Beauduy. The ball slipped past the Wofford goalkeeper in the left net for the Catamount's game winner at the 68th minute. The goal was Oberholtzer's first of the season and her second of her career. She notched her first career goal against Appalachian State on Oct. 30, 2008. The assist by Beauduy was her first of the season.

"We started out sluggish in the first half, but the girls rallied at half time," noted Catamounts Coach Tammy DeCesare. "We started out strong in the second half. I thought as time went on, we continued to gain momentum."

The Catamounts aggressiveness on offense paid off as they led in the shot column 16-8, out gunning the Terriers 6-2 in the second half. Seniors' Shannon Fowkes (3 shots) and Bri Cunnigham (3 shots) led the Cats with a combined six shots. Nine of the 16 Catamount shots were on goal.

Wofford's Sydney Reed had a golden opportunity at the 88th minute, but the potential game-tying goal missed wide left.

Goalkeeper Caitlin Williams recorded a pair of saves while notching her career high ninth shutout of the season. The shutout by Williams broke her previous single-season record of eight, which was set last season.

Western Carolina also controlled the corner kick advantage, 6-4. WCU wraps up Southern Conference play with rival Appalachian State on Friday. For the Catamounts, it's a way to finish out the regular season in a strong fashion.

"You always have to love the Appalachian State matchup," said DeCesare. "We challenged (the players) to finish strong. We still want to leave a mark on this season for the Southern Conference and for ourselves. (The players) started to rise to that challenge. They understand they need to prove who they are as a team this year."

The match with the Mountaineers will kick off at 6:00 p.m. on Friday at the Catamount Athletic Complex.